CRT devices have heretofore been used most widely as display devices of office appliances.
In the field of appliances such as office appliances having display devices, there is an increasing demand in recent years for miniature and weight saving appliances or large-frame and light gage display devices. On that account, in place of conventional CRT devices, various new type display devices have been developed with the view of answering to uses thereof or demands therefor. For instance, display devices of the kind include liquid crystal display, plasma display, LED display, EL display and ECD display.
Of these display devices mentioned above, liquid crystal display basically has such a function that electrical signals are given to switching elements using therein a liquid crystal compound, wherein the liquid crystal compound present in said switching elements is changed in its state, thereby to control the shielding and transmission of light and develop the electrical signals on the display device. Such liquid crystal display device as illustrated above has already been put to practical use not only as a display device of the aforementioned office appliances but also as a display device of digital watch or portable game and, at the same time, has come to be used recently as a display device of moving picture such as small-sized television.
In the above-mentioned display devices using liquid crystal compounds, various driving methods are already known. For example, as the driving method of liquid crystal display presently used, there is TN (twisted nematic) mode. This TN mode is to carry out display by utilization of dielectric anisotropy of the molecule in the nematic phase of the liquid crystal compound, wherein the display device drives by energy proportional to the square of the electrical field applied from outside (f.alpha.E.sup.2).
In the switching elements of liquid crystal display adopting this TN mode, however, there is involved such problems that in order to change the image being displayed, the driving time is prolonged, because the position of the molecule of the liquid crystal compound must be changed, and also the voltage necessary for changing the position of the molecule of the liquid crystal compound, that is, the electric power consumption, becomes large. In such switching elements as mentioned above, there is such a problem that because the switching threshold value characteristics of the element are not so good, when the position of the molecule of the liquid crystal compound is changed at high speed and the change-over operation is intended to carry out, whereby a lack voltage may exert even on those portions of the image which are not displayed and a contrast of the display device may markedly decrease.
Because of the above-mentioned problems associated with the conventional display method relying on TN mode as mentioned above, the display devices utilizing TN mode are not suitable particularly for large frame display devices or display devices for moving picture such as small-sized digital televisions.
Furthermore, there are being used display devices utilizing STN (super twisted nematic) mode in which the switching threshold value characteristics and the like as attained in the above-mentioned TN mode have been improved. By virtue of utilization of such STN mode, a contrast of the display devices certainly improves because of the improved threshold value characteristics. However, this display method is identical with the method utilizing TN mode in that both methods utilize the dielectric anisotropy, and accordingly because of their long switching time, the display devices utilizing this STN mode do not have sufficient characteristics as required for large frame display devices or devices for moving picture such as small-sized digital television.
In contrast thereto, R. B. Meyer et al. suggested in 1975 that organic compounds synthesized by them exhibit ferroelectric properties, and further suggested in 1980 the possibility that by filling cells having a small gap with these ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds, said ferroelectric liquid compounds as filled may be used as opticalswitching elements, i.e. display devices.
In distinction to switching elements utilizing TN mode or STN mode, the switching elements using such ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds as mentioned above are able to function as switching elements only by changing the direction of molecular orientation of said liquid crystal compounds and hence the switching time required for operating the switching elements is markedly shortened. Further, because a value of Ps.times.E obtained from a spontaneous polarization (Ps) of the ferroelectric liquid crystal compound and a strength of the electric field (E) applied is an effective energy output for changing the direction of molecular orientation of said liquid crystal compound, electric power consumption required therefor can be markedly minimized. Such ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds as mentioned above are suitable particularly as display devices for large frame or moving picture, because they have two steady states depending upon the direction of electric field applied, that is bistability and also very favorable switching threshold value characteristics.
When these ferrroelectric liquid crystal compounds are intended to use in optical switching elements, they are required to have such characteristics as an operating temperature range in the vicinity of ordinary temperature (room temperature), a wide operating temperature zone, a high switching speed and an appropriate switching threshold value voltage. Particularly, of these characteristics, the operating temperature range is especially important when the ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds are used in optical switching elements, and there are many ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds which are unusable therefor, because their operating temperature range does not agree with their service temperature range, in spite of the fact that other characteristics of said compounds are excellent (refer, for example, to R. B. Meyer et al., J. de Phys., Vol. 36 L, p. 69 (1975)).
Further, ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds having a naphthalene ring and the like compounds are disclosed, for example, in M. Taguchi and T. Harada, "Proceedings of Eleventh Conference on Liquid Crystal," p. 168 (1985) and Japanese Patent L-O-P Publn. No. 10045/1987. The liquid crystal compounds disclosed therein are of relatively high practical use when viewed from the standpoint of their operating temperature range and the like, for example, the compounds are stable as a substituent is attached directly to the naphthalene ring via ester bond. However, it is hard to say that these liquid crystal compounds satisfy all the characteristics other than the operating temperature range. Thus, there was much room for improvement.
Although the foregoing is a basic illustration of excellent characteristics such as chemical stability and the like as required for the ferroelectric liquid compounds, such is also the case with substituted naphthalene compounds even when they are used for other purposes.